Sleepless and Spiritual

In the beginning, humans gained the ability to ask why. We gained enough insight and intelligence to be able to pose philosophical questions and have the ability to answer them. By testing the world around us, noticing patterns, and similarities, we were able to gradually learn about the physical and chemical qualities of the things we found around us. We also learned about the biological processes when we took on the tasks of cultivation and agriculture. However, there has always been a mystery behind the knowledge. The bit we don't know, the bit that can't currently be answered is always present.

It became obvious to us in the early days of our civilisation that the Sun was a giver of life. When it shone, it was warm, plants grew, and it made us feel good. When the Sun didn't shine, it was dark, plants didn't grow, and we felt low in mood. We learned that the Sun was important, for many it began to represent a divine presence. The power behind the Sun, as in the force that allowed the Sun to shine, was considered to be the same force that allowed us to be here, and we formed a bond with this force. In order to understand our bond, we began to personify the force, or source of all life and light, as an individual with an awareness much like ours. We began to feel and believe that we could effectively communicate with the source of life in a way like we would communicate with each other.

In order to explain the creative element of the universe we found ourselves in, we envisaged metaphorical likeness's in order to appreciate the concepts we required in order to fill in the missing space. For every thing we could show with knowledge, the reasoning and source of the facts would always be occulted. It has been understood that in order for things to be as they are, some vital mechanism of creation has to have or be taking place. Before the definition of science, and scientific method, the world of introspection was the main laboratory for the way we looked at the facts. We would discover truths and then think about them, fitting it together in a web of half divine and half material.

The God being which we placed in the chair of the universal mechanism began to be understood in the way in which life and experience caused us to grow as individuals, and according to the phenomena which could not be explained. The soul and spirit became defined as the elements of ourselves which existed in the realm of divine action, and the body became the part of us that remained in the physical realm, subject to the actions or will of God. We began to appreciate the diverse inner world of feeling and higher thinking that became the seeds of theology today.

As various doctrines and ways of thinking about the divine presence manifested, the thoughts were passed along cultural lines within the civilisations which harboured the belief. The ancient faiths of distant people were mainly nature based and respected the Sun and natural process on Earth as the presence or a manifestation of the presence of divinity. These began to evolve over time and provided thinkers who were able to adapt the methods involved, even the philosophical implications of the theology, to bring about new variations and eventual separations from previous creeds.

As with most evolutionary processes, that which is most adaptable to change is that which prevails, and as human culture has changed over time, the faiths which we find the most appropriate and beneficial to our lives are the ones that have been able to withstand the generations of change that have followed since their creation. As the cores of most faiths are bound in the words of scripture, and this in itself cannot be changed, it is perhaps the interpretation of the scripture which must show adaptability over time. This could be said for the books of most major world faiths, in that they are written in metaphorical and abstracted ways that result in many possible angles and perceptions depending on the inner soul or personality of the individual reading.

This nature of religious scripture which has allowed certain books to thrive and others to be forgotten, results in a set of world faiths which provide a huge array of varying cultural differences and theologies, and within these again yet more diversity spreads. If it is in fact true that divine presence has inspired the writings of the scriptures within world faith, and I like to think it has, then it seems that the beneficial element of diversity within structure is exactly what nature likes best. And if nature likes it best, then that would be the will of God.

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This website is a personal site written and edited by me, Rowan Blair Colver. This website contains affiliate links which are delivered at no extra cost to the customer but also provide a commission to me if you choose to make a purchase.